This invention relates generally to the feeding and raising of hogs or swine, and more particularly to a food waste mixing and heat treating vehicle, method of feeding and raising hogs, and a hog lot therefor.
Hog, swing or pork is an important livestock to the agricultural industry. Hogs or pigs are typically born in a farrowing house where they remain with their mothers for approximately one month or until they reach approximately 50 pounds. Thereafter, the young hogs are placed in a lot or pen where they will remain for the duration of their life span which is approximately 6 to 8 months or until they reach approximately 230 pounds. Thereafter, the hogs are transported to the market.
The raising and feeding of hogs is regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Veterinary Service Divisions of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The primary reason for the regulation is for the avoidance and prevention of animals diseases. Animal diseases that may infect hogs or swine include trichinosis, African swine fever, vesicular exanthema, hog cholera, tuberculosis, swine erysipelas, foot-and-mouth disease, swine vesicular disease and salmonellosis. Some of these diseases are easily spread throughout the animal population and also may be contracted by humans by eating raw or undercooked infected pork.
Hogs have traditionally been fed and raised on waste food garbage or upon feed typically comprised of various grains. Feeding swine feed or grains proposes little problems to the farmers in the spreading of diseases provided the animal population is watched for good health and the spreading of diseases by other means. However, many farmers who feed their swine grains or feed supplement the product with vitamins and hormones to increase the animals mass and accelerate the growth cycle. Conscientious pork eating consumers, however, dislike any form of additives and prefer that the animals be raised naturally without additives.
The feeding of waste food or garbage to hogs has long been known but has presented special problems in animal disease prevention. Natural food or uncooked garbage is typically collected from the remaining food from tables in restaurants and elsewhere. After meat and food scraps have had opportunity to sit in the garbage without any form care, disease-producing agents begin to appear. When the infected food waste is eaten by swine, the introduction and spreading of diseases begin to occur. Furthermore, uncooked garbage is unpalatable even to swine or hogs.
Consequently, the garbage or waste food, under federal regulation, must be heat treated. That is, the waste food must be brought to approximately 180.degree. and remain thereat for 30 to 60 minutes after which it is permitted to cool and then fed to the hogs. Heat treating the garbage is important in that it eradicates diseases and disease-producing agents. The heat treated garbage appears as a porridge or booya which is easily fed to the swine leaving less residue and decomposition. Consequently, the remaining or unconsumed heat treated garbage is easily cleaned involving less labor and thereby attracting fewer flies and producing less objectionable odor. The heat treating of the food waste evenly distributes the food value thereby making a more uniform feed which is excellent for small pigs which are otherwise moved aside by the larger hogs.
There are generally two known ways to heat treat food waste or garbage. One method is the direct fire method. Small amounts of the waste food in the range of no greater than 300 gallons is collected in a vat and heated by flames in direct contact with the vat. The direct fire method has its drawbacks in that the food waste requires stirring to avoid burning of the garbage on the inside bottom of the vat. Also, the garbage has a tendency to dry out. For these reasons, only small loads of garbage can be treated in direct fire equipment.
A second method of heating treating garbage or food waste involves the introduction or injection of steam into the bottom of the load of garbage or food waste. Steam is advantageous because it adds water to the waste food. Box trucks have been used wherein steam pipes are fastened along the flat bottom of the truck body or vat perhaps 14 inches apart. However, such units are susceptible to "cold areas" between the pipes which does not properly cook the food waste. Furthermore, such trucks or units typically have a leakage problem, heat the garbage unevenly, are difficult to unload and have gaskets or seals which are easily ruined by the hot cooking greases contained within the garbage.
There is a need for a food waste mixing and heat treating vehicle that has the advantages of providing steam injection into the load, heats evenly, unloads easily, is extremely durable and heat treats large loads of food waste in the range of 60,000 pounds.